Another New World
by Michael2
Summary: An interstellar space battle cruiser finds a new world.
1. Chapter 1

"Curses!" yells Shammorax of Dufanal, kicking the wooden wheel of the wagon.

Heavy rain pours down from a sheet of clouds high in the sky. Aside from providing crops and trees with much needed water, it also turns the road into a stream of mud.

"You know, boss," says his servant, "there are places where the roads are made of brick and don't turn into mud when the water falls from the sky."

"As if that is any use here and now," replies the merchant. The downpour is quite unexpected. There had been only a few clouds this morning, and Shammorax had seen a moon rise. It had taken him two days to travel from his home city of Dufanal to Ratatos, with his inventory of slaves and spices. The interior of the wagon had some goods covered in leather to protect it from heavy rains like this, as well as a box containing a few gold coins.

Now, the wheels of the wagon are stuck in the mud, and the beasts are unable to pull the wagon. Even the greatest strength can be defeated by slipperiness, as a saying in Ratatos goes. This heavy rainstorm is a perfect example of that saying.

"Okay" says Shammorax. "We got to get this wagon going before nightfall." He places his hand on the hilt of his bronze short sword. "We can put wooden planks under the wheels, give it enough solid surface."

"Sir, we can cut those roadside trees down," says one of the servants. "It's not as if the local rulers will find out who cut them down."

"Good idea," replies the merchant, wiping some of the wetness from his leather jerkin.

_I hope they don't catch us; we don't need those bastards to take more of our coins than they already have._

Shammorax wishes he was home with his mate and the offspring hatched from the eggs he made inside his mate. He looks up, his face hammered by the rainsdrops, and he sees a glow in the sky.

_Maybe this horrid rain will stop soon._

But it does not stop.

Instead of raining water, it rains fire.


	2. Chapter 2

_Buildings are ablaze as the Zentraedi battle pods blast everything in sight. The Tomahawk destroids stand in their way. He looks at the screen. A destroid right next to him bursts in flames, scattering debris over the reddish ground. Instinct takes over, and he blasts three battle pods. He finds himself surrounded, with battle pods flanking his sides…_

Amir Santoso wakes up from his bed. He had that dream again, dreams of fighting Zentraedi battle pods on a city on Mars. The dreams are not as frequent as they were before, but they occasionally pop up.

The dream was not a replay of a specific event in his life, but an amalgamation of two intense battles he had fought in – one on the surface of Mars near an abandoned U.N. base, and the other on a city inside a huge space battle fortress. He had sought treatment after the war, but the shadows of those battles still remain, a shadow that occasionally consumes him.

"It will get better," the Spacy psychiatrist had told him.

Turning on the lights confirms the idea that he is not back in Macross City or Mars Base Sara, but his own private quarters on board an interstellar battle cruiser. It was as big as a studio apartment, with a bed, dressers, a closet, and an alcove with a stove and faucet. One door leads to a hallway, and another door leads to his own personal head.

The quarters are much more spacious than those he was assigned during his first deep space deployment five years ago. Back then; he shared a room with three other lieutenants.

_Back then; we had our own city to go to during weekends_.

He walks to the head and washes his face. Looking into the mirror, he sees a brown face with black hair and a close-cropped black beard.

He opens the closet and puts on olive-green MARPAT camouflage, the prescribed uniform for the day. As a Space Marine colonel and commander of the Space Marine detachment on board the U.E.S. _Tokugawa, _he had been on this deployment for three months now. It was estimated to be a six-month deployment, but the last time he went on a six-month deep space deployment, it lasted thirteen months.

_Time to grab breakfast at the officers' mess and then go to the office for my morning debriefing._

Ooooooooo

As Amir Santoso eats his breakfast, two other men eat their breakfast not far away.

"How are things going?" asks Rick Hunter.

"I'm holding up, Rick," replies Vince Grant. "It does help that Jean sends me messages."

"And that you're not the only married person on this ship," says Rick.

"And when are you getting married?"

"That…well, I'll keep that to myself for now."

While Rick is a captain and Vince is a second lieutenant, a tradition is that there is no rank in the mess. The mess hall resembles a cafeteria, with Formica tables and benches where the officers eat. Recruitment posters adorn the bulkhead. The officers eat the same food as enlistees- the captain of the cruiser had insisted on it.

"Excuse me," says Rick. "I need to go to the office."

"Captain's don't get a lot of free time," says Vince.

He works to finish his scrambled eggs and bacon, knowing that he would have to report to the XO, Spacy Commander Aaron Leibowitz, at 0900 for his duty assignment. He is glad he did not have the graveyard shift the previous evening.

_Here I am, on board interstellar spaceship light-years from Earth. Fifteen years ago I thought I'd never do such a thing. I was living with my sister and my grandparents in South Carolina when the crash of an alien spaceship brought robotechnology to Earth. It also brought the Zentraedi who came looking for the ship, starting the Robotech War. After the war ended, most of the surviving Zentraedi made peace with us. Some of them even serve with us on this ship._

But not all Zentraedi wanted peace with Earth, as Vince is acutely aware…

He looks at his watch. _I'd better go now. No need to piss off the commander_.

Ooooooo

Crewman Second Class Dan Milliome steps through the open door to the bridge of the _Tokugawa_. Six people are already on the bridge, some of them watching the LCD monitor screens and the instruments. The young crewman faces a dark-haired man in long-sleeve khakis.

"Crewman Milliome reporting for duty, Master Space Sergeant," he says.

"You're one time, Milliome," says Master Space Sergeant Kwame Mugabe. "Please make this a habit, Crewman."

"Yes, Master Space Sergeant."

The master space sergeant hands Milliome a bottle full of a blue liquid with a spray cap and a rag with a slightly sharp smell. "Take your station and start by wiping the glass in front of the monitor," he says.

Crewman Milliome sits at his assigned station. "The glass looks clean, Master Space Sergeant."

"I didn't say the glass was clean, Milliome," says Mugabe. "I said you go spray the glass and wipe it."

"Yes, Master Space Sergeant," replies the crewman.

As the crewman sprays the glass shield of the monitor screen and wipes it, Lieutenant Vince Grant looks at the instruments at the helm.

"Captain, we're defolding from hyperspace," says Grant.

The defold effect fills the ship, as double images of everything briefly appear. The multicolored display in front of the bridge is replaced by a starscape. The Milky Way is clearly revealed.

"Our predicted position is confirmed, ma'am," says the lieutenant.

"Acknowledged," replies Captain Lisa Hayes, the commanding officer of the _Tokugawa._

"Captain," says Crewman First Class Sam Laird, sitting at the station next to Crewman Milliome. "Sensors confirm the presence of a planet and two moons orbiting the planet."

"Acknowledged," says Lisa. "Send a probe to each moon and then we will set course to orbit around the planet."

"Yes, ma'am," replies Lieutenant Grant, pushing buttons on the console. "The probes are launched."

Two automated space probes are launched from the battle cruiser's launch tubes. Computers inside the probes operate the thrusters to guide the probes into a stable orbit around the moons.

"Course is set for the planet," says Grant. "Our ETA is five hours."

"Captain, should we get there via hyperspace fold?" asks Commander Aaron Leibowitz, the executive officer.

"We're not in a hurry, Commander," replies Lisa. "The sublight engines will do for now."

Oooooo

"And here is the latest readiness reports from the squadrons," says the man in the blue overalls.

"Thank you, Space Sergeant," replies Captain Rick Hunter. "You are dismissed."

"Aye aye, sir."

Captain Rick Hunter reads through the summary of the maintenance reports of all the _Tokugawa's_ aircraft, from the powerful VF-4 Lightnings to the tender shuttles. As the ship's CAG, he is responsible for all aircraft operations. His office is just a short walk from the airlocks leading to the hangar deck. It is a spacious office, as captains' offices on board vessels usually are. The bulkheads are decorated with posters, including a poster of a white VF-1S Valkyrie that has a black-and-yellow trim.

_Time for lunch, _thinks the pilot. Or as it is called in the military, dinner. Clad in his long-sleeved service khakis, he walks along the corridors of the _Tokugawa_. It had only been five years since he entered the accelerated VF flight program, back when he found himself on board the SDF-1 _Macross_. Making captain in only five years is quite an accomplishment.

_But then my service history is quite interesting_. _I was a civilian when I first flew a VF._

Every person he comes across stands at attention when they see him. Only two other people on this ship have the same pay grade that he has.

He walks to a door in the senior officers' quarters' section and rings a doorbell. The door is opened and a brown-haired woman dressed in long-sleeved service khakis appears. The eagle pins on her collar indicate that she is a captain in the United Nations Spacy.

"Glad you can make it," says Lisa Hayes.

"Let's eat before some emergency comes up," replies Rick.

Lisa lets out a laugh, knowing the truth behind the humor. Rick steps inside Lisa's quarters- a studio apartment with an attached kitchen-alcove.

"I hope you like microwave linguini," says Lisa. "I mean, I don't exactly have time to cook a full-course meal like the chef does."

"That's okay," says Rick, sitting at the table near the front of the quarters. "If we wanted his food, we'd eat at the officers' mess."

"We have the latest news feed from Earth," says Lisa, putting a fork into her linguini. "They finally finished taking apart the SDF-1."

Rick's heart sinks a little, though he knows he should not be surprised. It had been eight months since a renegade Zentraedi attack crippled the battle fortress that then served as the headquarters for the Robotech Defense Forces Command (RDFCOM). It was decided that the ship would be scuttled, taken apart from top to bottom.

"I guess any hope of it becoming a museum is gone now," he says. "What will they do with the pieces?"

"Most of it will be scrapped, I guess," says Lisa. "I read the engine modules would be transported to an isolated storage site. The _Prometheus_ is a different story. It was saved and it's being turned into a museum."

"I guess it makes sense," says Rick. "It was the first aircraft carrier to go into deep space."

Back when the Zentraedi first attacked, the SDF-1 _Macross_ attempted a space fold to escape. The space fold transported not only the _Macross_, but Macross City and two Ocean Patrol ships- the _Prometheus_ and the _Daedalus_- over a billion miles away. Almost all of the sea ships' crews had perished, as the ships were obviously not designed to keep people alive in deep space.

"Could we talk about something not work related?" asks Rick.

Lisa pauses. Most events happening on board an interstellar battle cruiser _is_ work-related. "Well, a couple of movies are being shown in the theater," says the captain. "New movies, filmed since the end of the Robotech War."

"Then how about a date to see a movie, Lisa?" asks Rick.

"Okay, Rick," she replies. "It's a date."

Oooooooooo

The _Tokugawa_ approaches the planet, and the navigational computers fire the thrusters to slow the ship down in relation to the planet, sending the ship to an orbit about ten thousand miles from the planet.

Captain Lisa Hayes enters the bridge. "Status report," she says.

"Everything's okay, ma'am," says the current officer of the bridge. "We're doing a preliminary survey of the planet surface."

"Scans indicate surface temperatures ranging from minus 50 to 80," says a crewman at a console.

"Eighty?" asks Lisa. "As in eighty Fahrenheit?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Lisa can see the planet. There is an ice cap covering much of the planet's hemisphere- an ice cap of greater proportion than Earth's northern polar ice cap.

"Spectral scans indicate that the atmosphere contains oxygen," says another crewman.

A third crewman chimes in. "We have visual on the planet's day side. There appears to be vegetation."

Lisa takes a long look at the planet. "I'll be in my office," says the captain. "Continue the scans."

"Yes, ma'am," replies the lieutenant.

Ooooooo

"So you see," says Lisa, meeting inside a conference room. "We have a lead on a naturally habitable planet. "It may have been a colony of the Robotech Masters. Zentraedi intelligence indicates that the Masters breathe the same type of atmosphere that we do."

"Have any radio transmissions been detected from the planet?" asks Commander Leibowitz.

"No, Commander," replies Lisa. She looks at a report. "Rotation time for the planet is about twenty-two and a half hours. We're conducting a weather survey. If temperatures are tolerable, that is where you will come in, Colonel Santoso."

Colonel Amir Santoso nods. "I can draft plans for a beachhead," says the Space Marine colonel. "We'll need some veritechs from Knight Squadron, as well as a re-entry pod to transport half-a-dozen destroids and other support vehicles and supplies. We'll need detailed scans of the planet. The optimal landing site will be flat open ground, and yet easily defended. Optimal weather conditions should have highs between 70 and 100."

"That should be near the equator, Colonel," says Lisa. She looks at an infrascan. "Equatorial temperatures during the daytime range from the upper 70's to low 100's.

"I'll provide whatever support you need, Colonel," says Captain Rick Hunter.

"We'll continue scans of the planet," says Lisa. "Colonel, draft a plan for a landing."

"Yes, ma'am," replies Santoso.

Oooooo

And so Colonel Santoso and the _Tokugawa's_ Space Marine detachment prepare for a landing on the planet's surface. The crew of the ship continues to gather as much information about the planet as they can to assist the Space Marines.

Santoso sits inside his office, reading his reports. The office is roomy, with a desk, three chairs including the chair behind the desk where the colonel sits. Posters adorn the bulkheads, including a recruitment poster and a poster of a destroid. A young man in service khakis enters the room.

"Colonel Santoso," says Lieutenant Vince Grant. "Captain Hayes has sent me to give you the latest intel update."

"Continue, Lieutenant," replies the colonel.

"Detailed scans indicate that there is life on the planet, sir," says Vince. "We've detected plant life, animal life, and buildings."

"Buildings?" asks Colonel Santoso.

"Yes, sir. From the scans we've determined that they are primitive buildings- mud huts, it seems. We've also detected farms."

"It is a big planet, Lieutenant."

"And we will continue to do more scans. We figure that the most likely places for settlements would be alongside rivers and near ocean bays."

"Just like how cities on Earth are located next to bays and rivers," says Santoso.

"And there is plenty of empty land, devoid of settlement," says Vince. "Possible locations for permanent colonies."

"Let's take things one at a time, Lieutenant," says Santoso. "I'll keep in touch with Captain Hayes. Thank you for the debriefing. You are dismissed."

"Aye aye, sir."

Ooooooooo

Captain Lisa Hayes looks at the LCD monitor screen in her office. An image of a dark-haired man in service khakis appears. The three stars on his collar indicate that he is a Spacy vice admiral.

"I have read your reports," says Vice Admiral Shin Lung, the commander of the Second Space Fleet. "A planet that we can walk around without wearing a spacesuit. It is the best news I've heard in a long time. A great way to end a work day."

"I agree, sir," replies the captain. "Colonel Santoso is nearly finished with the preparations to land on the planet. I've assigned a science team to accompany the Space Marines down there."

"You understand all the protocols of landing on a planet for the first time, right?" asks the admiral.

"Yes, sir," replies Lisa. She had been briefed about it from a captain at the Second Fleet Headquarters in Barbados, just before she was sent to the expedition.

"The mission is a go," says Admiral Shin. "I will inform REFCOM of the situation; I am sure the senior staff there will be pleased."

Oooooooo

The huge room serves as a briefing room for the Space Marines. Colonel Santoso faces the commanders, the senior enlistees, and the support staff of the units that compose the detachment.

"We are going to on a mission that the United Nations Space Marines was founded for," says the colonel. "We are landing on a planet that no human has ever stepped on. The preliminary landing site that we've chosen has tolerable temperatures, if a bit on the warm side. The air does have oxygen. However, there are unknowns. The air could have some toxin that we can't detect from up here, or there may be some biohazard on the surface. As Space Marines, it is our duty to be the first down there, to secure the area. I will send some Lightnings from Knight Squadron to secure the site. If it is safe, then the rest of us will go down there on a Frandlar Tiluvo re-entry pod. Mecha, equipment, and supplies have been already loaded. Lieutenant Lorne and his science team will accompany us in the re-entry pod. You have your orders. Dismissed."

Oooooooo

Lieutenant Colonel Akira Nomura, commander of Knight Squadron, does a last second check on the fasteners of his flight suit before leaving the locker room. The flight suit is made of a heavy airtight fabric. Airtightness is necessary to keep the air inside, as the cockpit of a VF-4 Lightning is not pressurized. He walks along a corridor towards the airlock leading to the hangar deck. The squadron's executive officer, Major Kevin Landry, walks by his side, and behind the two men are the other pilots assigned for this mission.

A man in his early twenties is walking in the other direction near the airlock. He is dressed in long-sleeve service khakis and the silver oak-leaf emblems on his collar indicate that he is a Spacy commander. His most notable feature is his blue-dyed hair.

"Sterling," says Colonel Nomura. "Wishing you were going down there with us?"

"Someone has to stay up here, Nomura," says Commander Max Sterling, the commanding officer of Skull Squadron. "In case we have to come to your rescue."

"I think you got that backwards, sir," says Major Landry.

"We're the sharp point of the spearhead, Sterling," says Nomura. He and his pilots put their helmets on and they all enter the airlock.

The airlock operators depressurize the airlock. A green light turns on, and access to the hangar deck is granted.

The hangar deck has several aerospace craft inside. Among the aerospace craft are VF-4 Lightnings, veritech fighter aircraft. Colonel Nomura climbs the ladder to the cockpit of his plane. Flipping the switches, he does a last second check of the engine instruments.

"Knight Leader to Air Boss," says Nomura. "We are ready for takeoff. Permission to taxi to flight deck."

"You have permission," replies the air boss, the officer in charge of the flight deck.

An elevator lifts the VF-4 Lightning to the flight deck, where the aircraft take off and land. Nomura looks at his instruments one more time.

"Knight Leader to _Tokugawa_ control," says the Space Marine colonel. "We are ready for takeoff."

"You are clear," says a control officer on the _Tokugawa_ bridge.

Colonel Nomura pushes the throttle, and the Lightning takes off from the flight deck and into empty space.

Oooooo

"Knight Squadron is away," says a lieutenant. "Contact with the atmosphere in eleven minutes."

"Acknowledged," says Lisa.

Ooooooo

"Raising heat shield," says Colonel Nomura. A heat shield covers the canopy of the cockpit. Nomura checks the hull temperature gauge even as the friction with the upper atmosphere starts to heat the Lightning up. "Status report, Knight Squadron."

The other pilots confirm that everything is fine for now. The friction with the atmosphere slows the veritechs down, causing their altitude to drop. The pilots look at their hull temperature gauges intensely, waiting to see if the temperature reaches the red zone.

"Temperature's seem to be stabilizing," says Nomura. "Airspeed and altitude are dropping."

"Me too," says Landry.

After a few minutes, Nomura notices the hull temperature dropping. He continues to watch the temperature indicator. After a few more minutes, he presses a button, lowering the heat shield and revealing the sky.

"Everyone all right?" asks the squadron leader.

"Yes, sir," the pilots reply.

Colonel Nomura looks around him. The sky above has a bluish-purplish hue, noticeable enough to be different from Earth's blue sky. "Knight Leader to _Tokugawa_, our ETA to the LZ is forty minutes."

Inside the bridge of the _Tokugawa, _Colonel Santoso stands pensively.

"I have a visual on the landing zone," says Nomura. He looks and sees a river flowing through a flat plain, looking as it did from the images he had seen. "Reducing airspeed."

The airspeed of the veritech fighter drops and the plane descends.

"Switching to guardian mode," says the pilot. He pushes the lever marked "G". The veritech's engines fold down, projecting two legs. Two arms extend from the sides of the veritech, making it look like a plane with arms and legs. "Airspeed is now zero." The VF-4 Lightning is now hovering with the thrust from the main engines counteracting the planet's gravity. "Now switching to battloid mode." Nomura flips the "B" lever on his instrument panel, and the fuselage folds and a head pops out. The VF-4 Lightning now looks like a suit of armor. On its right arm it carries a gunpod. The other veritechs transform into battloid mode and all land on the surface. "Knight Squadron has landed," says the colonel. He looks at a screen in front of him; the cockpit had been reconfigured with the transformation to battloid mode.

"Knight Squadron, secure the area," says Nomura.

They all form a perimeter, the battloids holding the gunpods looking as if they mean business, projecting their power.

"Sir, I see something," says First Lieutenant Kathleen Taney.

Nomura looks at the screen. "I'm forwarding the image to the _Tokugawa._"

The people inside the _Tokugawa's_ bridge see the image projected holographically. There are several creatures on the flat plain. A few of them walk on six legs, while others stand on two legs and have four arms. The skins of the creatures are covered with scales.

Tents and wagons accompany the creatures.


	3. Chapter 3

Zamquin, freeman and war leader of the Veeroth clan of the Relainna, pulls on the reins and his _kup'ech_ stops. It is a warm day, and a slight breeze blows. He is clad in a leather jerkin. His armament includes a bronze sword and a recurve horn-and-sinew bow and several wooden arrows tied in a loop. He doubts that his armament would be effective against what he is facing.

He was facing metal people. They are metal no doubt, though clearly not bronze. The metal people are as tall as hills, and they carry huge metal clubs. Though they only have two arms instead of four, they look as if they can easily carry much more than any man. Zamquin had seen many sights and smelled many smells riding with the Veeroth clan; but he had seen no sight like this.

_If they are here to steal our food beasts, all I can do is slash their toes._

"Who could it be, sir?" asks another freeman mounted on a _ku'pech. _"Not even the brick dwellers had that much metal, before the fire rained from the sky."

The two of them had ridden out from the camp. The metal people could be seen far away, especially as one can see very far on the flat open prairie.

"They are very powerful," says Zamquin. "I suspect that the metal people would not fear fire, even if the grass was high enough for us to set ablaze." It was a tactic that the Relainna had used against their enemies in the past. "I will keep watch. Go back."

Ooooooooo

"It's almost like looking back in time," says Captain Lisa Hayes.

"If you replace the humans with four-armed lizards," says Commander Aaron Leibowitz.

The bipeds all work in the camp. Some of them attend to the tents, while others attend to the beasts, and others fix the wagons. A fire burns under a bronze pot.

Captain Hayes looks towards Colonel Amir Santoso. "It's your call, Colonel," she says.

"We'll continue," replies the Space Marine colonel.

Less than fifteen minutes later, First Lieutenant Kimri Fadora sits at the cockpit of the Frandlar Tiluvo re-entry pod. The re-entry pod is of Zentraedi designed, remodeled to fit human crews. The pod is loaded with destroids, support vehicles, supplies, and equipment. The controls look the same to Lieutenant Fantoso- he is a Zentraedi, having operated these pods before. Of course, back then he had been much taller.

He glances towards Colonel Santoso, and then picks up the microphone.

"Santa's Sleigh to _Tokugawa_ control," he says. "We are ready to depart."

"Permission granted," says the control officer.

The re-entry pod goes out of its hangar bay- the pod has its own dedicated hangar bay, being about one hundred forty-three feet in height. It was originally designed to carry Zentraedi battle pods, so it is very useful in transporting far smaller mecha used by the UEF.

The exterior of the re-entry pod glows as it makes contact with the planet's atmosphere. The crew of the pod looks at the instruments.

"Everything's normal," says a Space Marine private.

"ETA to LZ is forty minutes," says Fadora.

"Everything okay down there, Knight Squadron?" asks Colonel Santoso.

"Copy, everything's okay," replies Lieutenant Colonel Akira Nomura. "The, uh, natives haven't launched an attack."

"Would you attack a fifty-foot tall metal giant with arrows?"

"Maybe, sir, if a girl offered to spend the night with me," says one of the pilots on the surface.

The journey to the surface is complete without a hitch. The landing legs of the re-entry pod soon touch the grass-covered ground, with the VF-4 Lightning veritech battloids circling around it.

"Outer hatch is open, sir," says a sergeant.

Santoso puts the helmet on. He is wearing an arming doublet over his MARPAT camouflage. The doublet is airtight, allowing a Space Marine to survive in a vacuum or a toxic atmosphere. While the crew and passenger cabins are pressurized, the main cargo hold is not.

"Here," he says. A parrot sits on his arm. They both descend into the airlock. The airlock is depressurized, and both the colonel and the parrot step out into the planet's atmosphere. Soon, Santoso's boots are on the ground.

He feels significant, as if he is making history. He looks at the parrot, who is doing fine.

"Holly's okay, so I'm removing my helmet," says Santoso. He undoes the seals attaching his helmet to his doublet, and then he removes his helmet.

Amir Santoso takes a deep breath, and then exhales.

"I'm all right," he says.

He is the first person from Earth to breathe this planet's air, to breathe the air of a world outside of Earth.

Applause can be heard from the crew cabin of the re-entry pod as well as the _Tokugawa's_ bridge.

"Okay," says the colonel, "let's move out!"

oooooooo

"It looks like they are setting up camp, sir," says Zamquin. "More of the metal people are coming out of the giant metal tent."

"I see no beasts," replies Dex, the Veeroth clan's war leader. "Wait, I see smaller people coming out. They look to be about our size, or maybe a little taller."

"Maybe the little people are servants of the big people," suggests Zamquin.

Half of the Veeroth clan's fighters had gathered here. A few of them are riding on the back of the _ku'peches_; others are standing on wooden chariots. Their armament consists of bows, swords, and axes.

"They do not seem to be armed with bows or swords, sir," says Zamquin. "They have those clubs, it seems."

"With those metal giants, they wouldn't need swords," says Dex.

"They have no food beasts with them."

"Either they wish to trade gold or tools with us, or just take our beasts." Dex puts his lower right hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Look," says Zamquin, "one of the metal giants is bowing down."

Ooooooo

The canopy of the VF-4 Lightning opens, and Major Kevin Landry steps out and climbs down the ladder extending down from the cockpit. He removes his helmet, breathing the air for the first time.

"It's good to have some fresh air, sir," says Landry as he faces Colonel Santoso.

The Space Marines are setting up the campsite, putting up tents and Quonset huts, activating the portable generators, and doing other things. A sergeant major barks orders. Destroids- huge machines that look like giant suits of armor- form a perimeter, relieving the pilots of the veritech guardians.

Colonel Santoso peers through binoculars. "So those nomadic herders haven't made a move against us," he says.

"They are keeping an eye on us, sir," replies Colonel Nomura.

There are three Quonsets that were set up. One serves as Colonel Santoso's private tent. The re-entry pod serves as a forward command center. The colonel enters the second Quonset. A few people are already inside, and complex electronic equipment sits on the floor or on tables.

"Is everything going okay, Doctor?" asks Santoso.

"Yes, sir," says Dr. Derek Lorne, the chief Spacy science officer assigned to the _Tokugawa._ "It is an honor making history here. We already set up some of the lab equipment. The air is sixty percent nitrogen, thirty-eight percent oxygen, and two percent trace gases including neon, water vapor, and carbon dioxide. Oxygen partial pressure is one fifty-five millimeters of mercury." He looks at a dark-haired young woman. "Crewman, I'll need a soil sample."

"Yes, sir," replies Crewman First Class Fatimah Abbas, a science technician.

"I'm just glad I finally hit pay dirt," says Dr. Lorne. "Just a few months ago I was teaching at a university in Calgary, when I was put on active duty and ordered to ship out. After a few months on a cramped ship, I am breathing air on another planet. In a way, it is even a greater accomplishment than what the astronauts who landed on the moon or Mars did."

"Maybe your next stop will be one of the moons around _this_ planet," says Santoso. "Excuse me, Doctor, but I have other business to attend to."

"Yes, sir."

Later that day, dinner is served. And dinner is a fitting term, for the sun is setting. Beef stew is served; frozen beef was part of the supplies sent to the surface. Two mess tents were set up, one for officers and another for enlistees.

"Back during the Robotech War, every Space Marine above the grade of first lieutenant was an American," says Colonel Nomura. "Now here we have a squadron CO who is a Japanese lieutenant colonel, a squadron XO who is a Canadian major, and an Indonesian colonel commanding the detachment."

"Not to mention who first breathed this planet's air," says Colonel Santoso, sticking his fork into the bowl of beef stew. The beef stew is a little on the salty side.

"I wonder when Captain Hayes will be coming down here," says Major Landry. "We got this area secure."

"We might be here for a while," says Santoso. "She and the crew's senior officers may visit us when a tender shuttle delivers more supplies."

"It's a great assignment, overall," says Nomura. "But sometimes I still wish I would wake up next to my Keiko."

Ooooooo

Less than a mile away, the leaders of the Veeroth clan meet inside a huge leather tent. Their agenda for this meeting is of course, the metal people.

"I urge caution," says a member of the clan's council, sitting in front of a fire. "So far, the metal people have not made a move against us."

"These are _our_ hunting grounds," says another councilor, a scar across his scaled face. "They trespass on our hunting grounds. They should leave or die."

"They have metal flesh," says the clan war-leader Dex. "We had enough trouble fighting the brick dwellers' bronze-armored warriors. Not only that, they can fly through the air like birds, making up for them having only two arms."

The others nod. The brick-dwelling tribes had those giant stone buildings along mountain passes and the junctions of rivers, driving the clans of the Relainna into the interior. It was not until the rain of fire, when the giant stone buildings were overthrown, that the Relainna clans were able to take the plains all the way to the crestline of the mountains and to the ocean. In fact, many of the brick-dwellers had been adopted into the tribe and its clans.

"And if they come to take our food beasts," says another councilor.

Oooooooo

High above the planet, Crewman Dan Milliome sits at his console on the _Tokugawa's_ bridge, looking at the telescans of the world below. The bridge is lit dimly, and the crewman just had supper.

"I wish I could be down there," says Milliome. "The Space Marines and the science team must be having a blast."

"And don't forget the pay bonuses," says Lieutenant Vince Grant. "Don't forget that you'd have to go through decon. Who knows what germs there are down there? And if someone like gets sick and dies or gets maimed, then the planet down there will be quarantined, and everyone already there will spend the rest of their lives there. That is why they're getting the extra pay bonuses, Milliome."

"Never thought about it like that, sir. I was looking forward for some shore leave. Wait, I think I see something down there."

The image from the probe shows a few short trees. And it also shows something else. "I'm magnifying it, sir."

Grant takes a look. "Is it being recorded?" he asks.

"Yes, sir," replies Milliome.

"I'll inform Captain Hayes and Commander Leibowitz in the morning."

Ooooooo

The chair of the clan council stands before the clan's assembly. The assembly- every able-bodied adult, numbering some seventy persons- all stand in the night air.

"These metal people have no food beasts of their own, and they intend to take ours," says the council chair. "We ask for your assent to fight."

The Relainna clans have an element of near-anarchic democracy. Big decisions are voted upon in a general assembly of free persons- such as a decision to fight an unknown enemy.

The crowd shrieks.

"Get your bows and prepare the chariots," says Dex.

Ooooooooo

The door to the Quonset opens, and a Space Marine corporal enters.

"Colonel," says the corporal, "the locals- they seem to be riding towards us. We can see the cloud of dust. We think they'll be here in about three minutes."

"Dismissed," says Colonel Santoso. He walks out into the starlit night. One of the destroids shines a spotlight. The Space Marine colonel climbs into his own MBR-04-Mk VI Tomahawk destroid. He had not any time to properly button up- he is still clad in his MARPAT camouflage, minus the arming doublet destroid pilots usually wear. He presses a button, closing the cockpit.

"Okay, people," he says. "No one is to fire upon them unless they attack or I give the order. Everyone not in a destroid or veritech take cover. The locals may fire arrows."

The display before him reveals a cloud of dust. Magnification reveals several dozen chariots pulled by six-legged reptiloid creatures.

Colonel Santoso grips the joystick and pulls the trigger. The beam cannon on the Tomhawk's left arm fires a beam, going over the heads of the local charioteers, and cuasing an explosion in the distance, far away from the locals' tent camp.

"You might not understand what I am saying," says Santoso, speaking through a loudspeaker, "but you will understand this. We have the power to destroy you, and we choose not to. Steer clear of us and you will live. Attack us and you will die."

Santoso looks at the main display and can see the chariots withdrawing. He magnifies the image to see the individual chariot drivers.

_They're not turning their backs to us,_ he thinks. _I have to admire these…people._

Ooooooo

"The locals were trying to start a fight," says Colonel Santoso, speaking inside the command center inside the re-entry pod. "I fired a warning shot and they've stayed away from us. There were no casualties reported."

"Good," replies Captain Lisa Hayes, speaking from her office inside the _Tokugawa_. "Colonel, we've scanned the rest of the planet and we've found something interesting. We found the wreckage of an alien spaceship in a forest about four thousand miles from your campsite. It is night there right now, although it should be morning in two hours."

"Whose is it?" asks Santoso.

"We have our suspicions, but we want a closer look to be sure," answers Lisa.

"Ma'am, I can go over there and check it out myself," says Colonel Nomura.

"You do that and take two others with you," orders Colonel Santoso.

Ooooooo

Lieutenant Colonel Akira Nomura makes a last minute check on the flight and engine instruments of his VF-4 Lightning veritech guardian.

"Knight Leader is moving out," says the squadron CO. He and two other Lightnings take off in guardian mode up to the night sky, and then the veritechs switch to fighter mode, looking like a fighter jet.

"Knight Leader, we are transmitting the coordinates," says Lieutenant Grant.

"Copy," replies Nomura. In a few minutes the three planes are flying over the blue ocean at Mach 3. "ETA is thirty-five minutes."

The sky becomes lighter and lighter, and then the red sun peeks over the horizon. "We're over the target area," says Nomura. "Reducing airspeed." The colonel watches his airspeed indicator. "Switching to guardian mode." The veritech's legs fold down, allowing for vertical thrust and flight at reduced airspeeds. "Airspeed is now 30 knots. Images are being transmitted."

Captain Lisa Hayes and the others on the _Tokugawa's_ bridge look at the holographic image from Colonel Nomura's Lightning. They see a green, cigar-shaped ship. The rear is broken, exposing the ribs.

"That is definitely Zentraedi," says the captain.

"A Tou Redir Zentraedi scout ship, to be precise," says a staff sergeant on board the bridge. "Used for scouting space."

"We're going down to take a closer look," says Nomura.

The three Lightnings land next to the crashed Zentraedi scout ship in their battloid modes. The battloid mode of a veritech is about as tall as a macronized Zentraedi.

"So this is the inside of a Zentraedi ship," says Lieutenant Kathleen Taney. "Everything is so big."

The three battloids entered through a breach in the hull and are walking along the corridors of the scout ship. The only light comes from the veritechs. A room reveals several beds; presumably the sleeping quarters for the ship's crew.

"Maybe we can salvage this ship," says Third Lieutenant Juan Alavarez.

They continue walking along the corridors and enter a huge room with consoles and monitors.

"The ship's bridge," says Nomura.

The bridge looks pretty much the same as the _Tokugawa's_ bridge- if the Earth ship's bridge was over one hundred feet from deck to ceiling.

"Where is the ship's crew?" asks Taney. "There should be bodies."

"Maybe they all survived," says Alvarez.

"But what would they eat?" asks Nomura. "Life here must have a different biochemistry from Zentraedi life."

After about an hour of exploring the crashed Zentraedi scout ship, the three veritechs go out into the forests.

"Knight Leader, I suggest we take samples of the flora here for Dr. Lorne's team," says Taney. "We are explorers here."

"You and Alvarez take samples," replies Nomura. "But keep your suits on. We don't need you two to get some rash- or to die because the plants' oil is a deadly neurotoxin or something."

The two veritechs transform to guardian mode, and the Space Marine pilots step out. They are dressed in airtight flight suits.

Lieutenant Alvarez cuts a leaf and places it in a plastic bag. He hears rustling.

"Wait, I think there's something there," he says.

And then he feels pain in his shoulder. He looks and sees the shaft of an arrow piercing him.

More arrows fly. Lieutenant Taney fires a few rounds from her pistol.

"Man down!" she yells. "We have a man down."

"Are you okay?" asks Nomura.

"Alvarez has been shot with an arrow," says Taney.

"Scout the area for any more hostiles. I'm going down."

Lieutenant Taney walks a few feet, and then looks down upon her.

She sees a four-armed, bipedal reptiloid form below her, lying on the ground.

"We have another wounded here," she says.

Colonel Nomura runs up to her and looks at the wounded alien. "Take Alvarez with you and head back to the beachhead," he says. "I'll take the alien."

Minutes later, two VF-4 Lightnings are flying in fighter mode. They are double-seated, allowing for an extra passenger in cases like this.

"Knight Leader to Beachhead," says Nomura. "We have two wounded."


	4. Chapter 4

Third Lieutenant Juan Alvarez sits back in the back seat of the VF-4 Lightning. Throbbing pain radiates from his shoulder. Slightly bending his head, he can see the shaft of the arrow. The Cuban-born space aviator had not signed up for _this_. He had thought it would be an adventure, to fly among the stars with an elite fighting force, seeing new worlds- all of which he did. Now he experiences an arrow inside his shoulder.

"You okay there, Alvarez?" asks First Lieutenant Kathleen Taney.

"I have an arrow in my shoulder, ma'am," he replies.

"We'll be there in ten. I'm getting us there as fast as possible."

Soon the two VF-4 Lightnings land at the beachhead camp in their guardian modes. Taney opens the cockpit and carries Alvarez down. Two Humvees pull up to serve as ambulances.

"Here you go," says Taney as she hands Alvarez over to the two corpsmen assigned as part of the medical team. The other corpsmen look at the other person that was brought in.

The other person has scaly skin and four arms in addition to two legs.

"He's been shot," says Lieutenant Colonel Akira Nomura. "Get him to the hospital."

"What happened?" asks Colonel Amir Santoso, running up to the two pilots.

"We were exploring around the ship on foot when the aliens fired on us with arrows," says Nomura. "Taney fired back, hitting one of the aliens."

The two wounded are driven to a Quonset hut that was set up to be a field hospital. The doctors, nurses, and the corpsmen look one of the patients.

"Okay," says Dr. Kelly Jackson, the senior of the doctors and an experienced trauma surgeon, "let's get these patients stabilized. Administer morphine to the Marine there."

"And the alien?" asks an anesthesiologist.

"No," replies the doctor. "We know nothing about his/her/its physiology. A single drop of morphine could be fatal."

The doctor looks at Alvarez as the other medical staff open up the area around the wound, lit by a bright lamp just two feet above the operating table. "Looks like a puncture wound," she says. "Tissue damage seems to be localized to the shoulder."

"The alien seems to be stable," says another doctor. "It's breathing."

"The Marine's wound doesn't appear to be life threatening," says Dr. Jackson. "I'll take care of the alien."

She lifts the alien's scaly body up. "No exit wound," she says. "Bullet might still be lodged inside the body. Restrain the alien." The surgeon takes a closer look at the bullet wound. This had been the most unusual case in her entire medical career since accepting the United Nations commission.

_A few months ago I was working the OR at a Spacy hospital in Houston_. _Now I'm treating an alien_.

Making incisions so that she and the team can look further inside, she can see all sorts of organs, though she has not a clue as to what function they may have. "At least none of the organs are damaged. The alien would probably be dead." She uses an instrument to push some of the alien organs, being careful not to damage them. "There, there's the little slug. I need tweezers." Slowly and painstakingly, the surgeon removes the bullet from the wound, taking extra special care not to damage any of the organs. "It's out. I see a torn blood vessel. Get me the cauterizer." A surgical corpsman hands Dr. Jackson a cauterizer- a small, high-powered laser that can cauterize wounds, thus stopping bleeding. She sees the torn tube that is leaking a reddish-brown fluid. She uses the cauterizer, and a very tiny quantity of smoke comes out of the wound. "Major bleeding seems to have stopped. Time to sew the alien up." She closes the scaly skin and applies sutures. After applying the sutures, she wipes the area with isopropyl alcohol and applies a bandage.

"The Marine is stable," says the other emergency surgeon.

"Everything has been recorded, including video, ma'am," says a surgical corpsman.

Ooooooooo

"The alien is breathing," says Colonel Amir Santoso. "Dr. Jackson and the medical staff here are monitoring our guest."

"That is good to hear," says Vice Admiral Shin Lung. "We need to make better first impressions."

"I heard the first aliens we tried to contact on our deployment tried to nuke us. And Lieutenant Alvarez is going to be fine; the arrow didn't sever any major blood vessels or anything."

"I'll let General Petersen know how you are doing," says the admiral. Lieutenant General Hugh Petersen is the commander of the 2nd Fleet Space Marine Corps, who had assigned Colonel Santoso to be commander of the _Tokugawa's_ Space Marine detachment. "Anything found on the alien?"

"We found a bronze sword. Nothing like a radio or anything."

"You may continue with your mission," says Admiral Shin.

Ooooooo

Ked!rick of Tulahayas wakes as the pain subsides. Everything had happened so fast, seeing the intruders, the loud noise, and the pain, and then the bright lights. He looks around. The walls and ceiling are seamless, as if the building is shaped like an arch. There are strange lights inside the room, and strange creatures wearing strange clothes and speaking a strange tongue that sounds like a low series of rumbles. Sheets hanging from racks form makeshift walls. He puts his lower left hand at his waist; not surprisingly, his sword is gone. He does notice a cloth sticking to him, like a bandage.

_Am I dead? But I hurt too much to be dead._

"Who are you?" he asks the creatures, who have something growing out of their heads. He then recalls a story he was told, a story of events that had happened around the time that he hatched. "Are you the _zentr'di_?"

_But the stories about them were that they were as tall as the hills. _

ooooooo

"Here it is," says the young crewman holding up the labeled bottle. "Pure Patron."

"How'd you sneak it on board ship?" asks Crewman Ken Kabirov.

Several crewmen are gathered in a common area inside the BEQ of the _Tokugawa- _a lightly furnished room with a circular table and a few chairs. One of them holds a bottle of Patron.

"Thank me," says a young dark-haired woman. "I did the inspections of everyone on board. I figured a little liquor wouldn't hurt. We've been in this space bucket for _months_ now."

"So let's pass it on," says Crewman Dan Milliome.

The liquor is poured into plastic cups and soon everyone takes a sip. And then they take more sips.

"I remember there was a city on board the SDF-1," says one of the crewmen. "The crew of the ship could just go there to get wasted. They didn't need to sneak liquor on board."

"And why would we want shore leave down on the planet?" asks another crewman. "I saw the scans from the bridge; all that there is down aside from ice, grass, and trees are mud huts. No nightclubs or casinos or even dive bars. The Space Marines aren't partying down there; they're probably marching back and forth spit-shining their destroids and that flying saucer they flew down there."

"Maybe in twenty, thirty years this ship will be turned into a nightclub," says Crewman Sam Laird. "I live in New York and at the end of the Robotech War, this Zentraedi warship crashed into Queens. We rebuilt it into this entertainment and shopping complex." Laird takes another sip.

"Maybe you can take us there when we get back to Earth, Sammy boy," says Crewman Kabirov.

Deep, rhythmic music is played as the crewmembers converse and takes even more shots of Patron.

"I think we can fool around with a few regulations," a man drunkenly says to a woman, tapping her on the shoulder. "It will only be between us- and everyone else in this room."

The woman looks, having this expression in her eyes, and gets up. The man turns around.

Every crewman in the room stands at attention. A man clad in long-sleeve service khakis stands at the door, accompanied by two other men in blue outfits. For a minute there is complete silence in the room.

"Good evening, Master Space Sergeant," says Crewman Milliome, breaking the silence.

Ooooooo

The next morning, every one of those crewmen is standing inside an office near the bridge. The office is about twice the size of a closet, with a desk, two chairs, and some file cabinets. They had been standing there at attention for over half an hour.

"I am disappointed in you," says Commander Aaron Leibowitz, putting down some sheets of paper. "I've made my decision after looking at your service records. Corporal Moon, you outrank the others and you are a policeman as well. You enabled this to happen. You will be confined to the brig for one week- unless you wish to request a court-martial."

"No, sir," she replies.

"Here is the order confining you to the brig." The commander hands the corporal a sheet of paper. "Report there now."

"Aye aye, sir."

Commander Leibowitz stands up, and the others look at him. He is a rather tall man with a big nose. He is dressed in long-sleeve service khakis, the typical dress for officers and the most senior enlistees. He just stares at each crewman's eyes for a minute.

"You are all on punishment detail," says Leibowitz. "The master space sergeant will find suitable duties for you."

"I'll get on it, sir," replies Master Space Sergeant Kwame Mugabe.

"Dismissed."

As the enlistees leave, Captain Lisa Hayes enters the room. "What was that about, Commander?" asks the captain.

"A few crewmen snuck liquor on board," answers the commander. "Simple non-judicial punishment was sufficient in my judgment. It is rather amusing, if you think about it. It didn't hurt anything beyond good order and discipline."

"I remember a time when my friend Claudia and a few others snuck liquor on board ARMD-10 during my first space deployment. I wasn't involved, because I was Miss Straight-and-Narrow and all."

"Captain, are there any reports from the surface?" asks Commander Leibowitz, changing the subject.

"Colonel Santoso reports that their guest mentioned the Zentraedi," replies Lisa. "Given that he was found near a crashed Zentraedi scout ship…"

"…it can not be a coincidence," says Leibowitz. "I know, one of the duties of an XO is to complete a CO's sentences."

"That's reserved for the senior enlistee, Commander," says Lisa.

Ooooooo

"It's amazing," says Dr. Derek Lorne, looking through a high-powered microscope inside the field lab. "It seems that multicellular life is based upon prokaryotic cells."

"Pro-what?" asks Colonel Santoso.

"Prokaryotic, sir," replies the scientist. "The cells that make up our bodies are eukaryotic- they have nucleus containing the genetic material. The cells from the alien, as well as the local plant life , are prokaryotic, meaning they have no nucleus. In fact, they do not even have DNA- there must be some other means of storing and transmitting genetic information. They are way different from the Zentraedi."

"And how are your tests going?"

"Almost finished, Colonel. We've already done the soil testing, as well as water testing from the nearby river as well as the groundwater. And our breathing pretty much says a lot about the atmosphere here."

The colonel turns towards the senior doctor on the field. "Will Lieutenant Alvarez be okay to return to the ship?" he asks.

"Yes, sir," replies Dr. Jackson. "The wound was not so deep, and it only scratched the muscle. A ride back up into space shouldn't hurt."

"Yes, Lieutenants Taney and Alvarez are going back up there with Private De Salle," says Santoso. "There is one test to be handled up there."

Oooooooo

"Enjoying Chef's food?" asks Captain Rick Hunter as he sits at the officers' mess.

"Yes," replies Lisa, sticking her fork into some pot roast. "It helps that our chef is an executive chef at some fancy restaurant in Monument City in his civilian life."

"Of course, headquarters will always cater to the personnel requests by a hero of the Robotech War."

"Any news, Rick?"

Rick sips some water. "Max asked for Skull Squadron to have live fire exercises on one of the moons," says the CAG. "I think it could be doable. The nearest moon is eleven thousand miles away and the veritechs should have enough fuel to get there and back with plenty to spare. And the tender shuttle picked up three of the Space Marines from the planet, including the one who was wounded by that alien."

"Remember when we had to go through decon after we first escaped from the Zentraedi?" asks Lisa.

Four years ago, Rick and Lisa had been captured by the Zentraedi while on a recon mission. They had been brought to the Zentraedi supreme headquarters. During the captivity they had learned a lot about the Zentraedi.

"The tender shuttle should almost be here," says Rick. "Decon ought to be fun."

Ooooooo

Lieutenant Kathleen Taney feels the warm water spraying against her as she is being scrubbed by people in biohazard suits. The water has this alkaline feel to it; the Space Marine pilot figures there must be some antiseptic property.

"You can proceed," says a voice over the speaker. She leaves the shower room; the next room has some clothes waiting for her. She puts them on and dries her red hair with the towel provided.

_I wish they had a blow dryer._

Decontamination protocols included an isolation period. The isolation area of the ship has its own air and water filtration systems. Lieutenant Taney would have to provide samples to find out any alien microorganisms had stowed away. She had heard, once, that the human body would be an extremely hostile environment to most alien microbes.

"You okay there, Alvarez?" she asks as she says Lieutenant Juan Alvarez step into the common area.

"My shoulder's still sore, ma'am," he replies. Another man enters the room. "Private De Salle, how are you doing?"

"I can use the relaxation," answers Private Edgar De Salle. "Down there I was working most of the time. Sergeant Major Kaufman really pushes us hard down there, sir."

"Take a rest, Private," says Taney. "I heard they have an anthology of classic video games here."

"Aye aye, ma'am," replies the private.

Oooooo

Ked!rick looks around his makeshift room, with walls made of cloth. He can only listen to the conversation by these strange people.

One of the people, clad in a blue outfit, enters. The person holds some of container and pours the contents on his hand.

_Water,_ he thinks.

And the person is saying something. "Wa-ter."

He takes a sip. He had not eaten anything since his capture by these strange folk.

_Now is my chance_.

He bends down and swipes his tail, knocking the creature over. Running along on all sixes, he races through the hut and reaches a door.

_How do I open this? There!_

He turns this metal cylinder attached to the door. Pulling on it, the door opens.

He steps out. He can see the creatures' camp, with huge metal buildings. The large metal dome shaped building must be their fortress. Several of the creatures approach him, bearing strange-looking clubs. Ked!rick notices that there are blades at the end of those strange-looking clubs.

He finds a tall metal pole next to him. Grabbing the pole, he points it towards the warriors.

"Stay back!" he yells. "If you get out of my way, you may live."

He continues to wave the huge pole that he is using as a makeshift staff, and finds that it is pulling something. He glances down and there is a dark rope tying the pole to something. He then feels a low rumbling on the ground. He looks and sees giant metal people, each with two arms and two legs- but surprisingly, they do not have hands.

_Are _those_ the _zentr'dei_?_

The metal giants appear unarmed, but their huge size compensates for the lack of sword, spear, or bow.

He drops the pole and lies down, with his arms and legs stretched.


	5. Chapter 5

"He's a warrior," says Colonel Amir Santoso, looking at the alien inside his own Quonset. "He was captured by us, and he thinks it is his duty to escape."

"And to kill any of us who get in the way," says Sergeant Major Peter Kaufman. "I guess those destroids must have frightened him."

"Sir, the best thing we can do for him/her/it is to take him/her/it back to the crashed Zentraedi ship," says Lieutenant Colonel Akira Nomura.

"But how do we get this fellow to climb into the cockpit of your Lightning?"

"Maybe we can tranq him, Colonel."

"Bad idea, sir," says Dr. Derek Lorne. "His physiology is different, remember? Tranqs might kill him."

"We don't want to do that just yet," says Santoso. "We're not at war with his people. And how do we communicate with the fellow? Maybe the locals here might understand."

"Not if the alien came from across the ocean," says Dr. Lorne. "Their language would be as unfamiliar to the alien as English would. However, he does know about the Zentraedi. My guess is that there were survivors of that crash, and they came into contact with the locals."

"And what happened to the Zentraedi here?" asks Nomura.

"I don't know. We'd have to ask the Zentraedi about what happened on this planet."

"Colonel, is there any words on Taney and Alvarez?" asks Nomura, changing the subject.

"They haven't gotten sick, from what the medical staff told me," replies Santoso. He looks at the alien. "I'll have to take charge of our guest here."

Oooooo

"So that's the alien," says Captain Lisa Hayes, looking at the monitor screen while sitting in her office. "I can almost sympathize with his situation. How has your guest been doing?"

"He hasn't had any food, Captain," says Colonel Santoso. "We don't know what he eats."

"The medical staff is almost done with Taney, Alvarez, and DeSalle. They're doing fine. And we just received a report from the Zentraedi. They have details about their visit to this planet, almost thirty years ago."

"That's good to know. What did the Zentraedi tell us?" Santoso pauses and looks at the reptiloid alien. "Can you get up?" Santoso asks the alien. Lisa sees two Space Marines enter the room. "I think the alien might be exhausted from hunger. Unless he's playing possum or something. Maybe I can get Lieutenant Colonel Nomura to bring him back home."

Oooooooo

Hunger.

Hunger dominates Ked!rick's being. But even through his hunger, he can see other things. He looks outside. He is flying high above the sky. These _zentr'dei_ have flying chariots. Until recently he only saw the wreckage of the flying chariot that had brought the _zentr'dei_ to his land around the time of his hatching.

_This is what it's like for birds. _

He sees he is flying high above the ocean. He had heard of the ocean, from traders going inland from coastal towns, but he never knew how big the oceans were. More surprisingly, he sees that the horizon is curved.

_Apparently the world is shaped like a dome._

A few minutes later, he sees land. He hears the driver of the sky chariot say something. Ked!rick had managed to pick up a few words.

He sees the features of the ground become larger. He can see dirt roads. He then sees the crashed _zentr'dei_ sky chariot, and then he sees mud huts and brick buildings surrounded by a dirt berm.

_That's Tulahayas. I can see my home, and the town market. _

He feels a thud, the sky chariot must have landed just near Tulahayas's defensive berm. Several townspeople standing watch for the town levy go out to greet the sky chariot; some of them are driving chariots. The ceiling opens.

Despite his hunger and pain, Ked!rick climbs down, using a ladder extending from the nose of the sky chariot.

"Ked!rick!" yells one of the people. "You are back from the dead!"

"The _zentr'dei_ came back," he says.

"It has been so long," says an older townsperson. "I remember when they came, and we shared our music with them. They were fine guests. And then it rained fire."

A few of the townspeople gesture. They can not forget that day, when fire rained down and burned the towns and forests. Smoke lingered in the sky for years.

Ked!rick looks towards the sky chariot, which is rising up. The legs of the chariot fold in and it flies, presumably back home.

_Must be to make it fly faster. _

"Is there anything you want?" asks the town's leader.

"I'm hungry," replies Ked!rick.

ooooooo

"We're picking up gravitational waves consistent with multiple hyperspace defolds," says a bridge operator on board the _Tokugawa_.

Lieutenant Vince Grant picks up a handset. "Captain and Commander to the bridge," he says.

Captain Lisa Hayes and Commander Aaron Leibowitz enter the bridge. "What is it?" asks the captain.

"The fleet is here and they are hailing us," says Grant.

A holographic image of Vice Admiral Shin Lung appears. "Captain Hayes," he says. "How is your crew?"

"We are doing well, sir," replies Lisa.

"REFCOM read your reports and has decided to conduct extensive surveys of this planet," says the admiral. "Meet me down on the surface.:

"Yes, sir," says Lisa.

Oooooooo

Crewman Sam Laird, Crewman Ken Kabirov, and Crewman Dan Milliome are all mopping up the officers' mess, wiping away the tracks left by boots.

"The officers' mess doesn't look too different from the enlisted mess," says Laird as he dips a mop into the soapy water in the pail.

Master Space Sergeant Kwame Mugabe enters the mess. "You three are going down to the planet," he says.

"We're getting shore leave, Master Space Sergeant?" asks Kabirov.

"No, you need to help the science team pack up their things."

Oooooooo

"This planet sure has potential," says Commander Max Sterling.

"Maybe we'll take vacations here in a few years," says Captain Rick Hunter.

A few transport and cargo ships and re-entry pods had landed on the surface of the planet, right next to the Space Marines' base camp. Inside the base camp, Colonel Santoso and the Space Marines pack up. Sergeant Major Peter Kaufman supervises, and three of the Space Marines take inventory of what was left. Most of the people wear short-sleeve camouflage or khakis, as the air temperature is above ninety.

"Welcome, Admiral," says Lisa, upon seeing Admiral Shin. A tall man with a cloth covering the right side of his face stands next to the admiral. He is clad in a blue outfit, and the single silver star indicates that he is a brigadier general in the United Nations Air Force.

"Captain," says Admiral Shin, "this is Brigadier General Edwards. He is in charge of the survey mission."

"It will be some time before we can recommend on permanent settlement," says General Edwards. "We have to do all sorts of tests at many sites. And of course, we have to do a climatological study, which will take at least one planetary revolution."

"We have a lot of work to do," says Dr. Emil Lang, a scientist and engineer whom Lisa recognizes from her deployment aboard the SDF-1 _Macross_.

"Dr. Lang," says Dr. Derek Lorne, "here is a copy of my notes."

"Thank you," replies Dr. Lang, taking a small cylinder storage device from the field scientist.

"Admiral, we will provide whatever support you need for this mission," says Lisa.

"Maybe in the future, but not now," replies Shin. "After we finish replenishing your supplies, you are to continue exploring the galaxy. Enjoy your stay on this planet. I'll be going up to your ship."

"Maybe we will work together again in the future, Captain Hayes," says Edwards.

"Lisa," says Rick, walking up to the captain. "the survey crew set up a rec center. They've invited a few of us to the games."

"Why not?" asks Lisa. "We might as well have some R & R down here before we leave, and before we have to go through decon."

"I'm looking forward to that," says Max, remembering his first time going through decon.

Oooooooo

"Admiral on deck!" yells Captain Lisa Hayes.

Everyone in the crew not assigned to watch is gathered in a large room in the _Tokugawa_. This room is a cover area, so they all have hats on. Ceiling lights provide illumination. They all salute Admiral Shin as he enters, and the admiral returns their salute.

"Crew members and members of the air wing and Space Marine detachments, I want to thank you all for your service," says Shin. "I know the hardships of a long-term deep space deployment, and the separation from your loved ones. Not to mention the hardship of going through decontamination and having to sit in isolation until some doctor says you can go. The past new days have given humanity a new frontier. We needed to leave our cradle behind, and your work put us closer to that. I wish you luck on the rest of your mission to explore this galaxy. Go back to your posts."

"Aye aye, sir!" everyone yells.

Admiral Shin approaches Lisa. "Any ideas of where you are going next?" he asks.

"Closer to the center of this system," replies Lisa. "This is a binary star system. One of the stars is a red giant, and the other is a black hole, about a million miles from the other star. This is an opportunity to study a black hole up close."

"Not inside the event horizon, I hope."

"No, sir. We will be at least two solar radii from the black hole; we should be safe."

"I will return to Earth. I wish you well, Captain Hayes."

Ooooo

Down on the surface, the expedition sets up, setting up tents and Quonset huts and air purification systems. Construction engineers work on a landing strip for shuttles and cargo ships.

A few miles away, the Veeroth clan of the Relainna meets. The other clans had sent representatives to the Veeroth clan's meeting.

"We must discuss our future," says one of the councilors.


End file.
